Giants on the front foot with new Katich role

FORMER Australian opening batsman Simon Katich has been appointed football operations manager for the Greater Western Sydney Giants.

Katich (pictured), who played 56 Tests for Australia, will relinquish his role as runner at the club, but will add responsibilities for Total Player Payments, budgets and assistance with list management to his control of the club's leadership programs.

Former Carlton great Stephen Silvagni has been the list manager at the Giants since their inception, but will leave the role after next week's national draft and is expected to take up a similar role at the Blues.

Meanwhile, the Giants have appointed David Joyce as the club's high-performance manager. He has a long history in the sports industry, having worked for European football clubs Blackburn Rovers and Galatasaray, and more recently with the Western Force Super Rugby franchise.